Lost in Translation
by BlackRitual
Summary: The two most unlikely people meet on a streetcorner in New York. Yuuji's hat, of course, plays a big role. - (Yuuji smirked. The smug expression looked very natural on his face. He pointed over at Kevin. "Are you a girl?")


**A/N: this wasn't gonna be a fanfic, I said. and I have so much else to do that I'll just make it an outline post, I said.**

 _ **wait I suddenly have so many ideas, I said.**_

 **I got the pairing "Yuuji and Kevin" from an Assassination Classroom Rare-pair Maker a while back, and the combo was just so hilarious I wanted to do something for it. So here. This is kinda meant to be platonic, but leaves room for shipping fuel if you want!**

 **(The phrases that Kevin understands are written out in roumaji, while phrases he doesn't understand from Yuuji are in kana/kanji. I hope that's okay with everyone! You're not missing out on anything in Yuuji's outbursts believe me it's mostly 'ow' and 'what the fuck you asshole'.)**

 **(Submitted for** **Assassination Classroom Rarepair Week Day 4: Rarepair Maker)**

* * *

The afternoon sun was high overhead as Kevin walked—more like pushed—his way through the crowds. Something stank through the air, a smell so faint and foul that it almost bordered on sweet. An assortment of billboards glowed and flashed on the sides of buildings in attempts to get peoples' attention. On the nearest street corner, a man was standing and muttering, staring vacantly off into space. Kevin grit his teeth and pulled down on the brim of the baseball cap he was wearing in order to block some of it out. Meanwhile yet another car zoomed through a red light, prompting even more beeping to burst out and mix with the cacophony, the hustle, the bustle, the neverending _rush_ of New York City.

Honestly, he preferred Texas. Yessir, Kevin Smith was a classic type. The wide open plains, the natural grass of his high school sports field, his family's house… Kevin's fingers tightened around the brown leather football held in his right hand. He had brought it to remind himself of his home field, and a hum escaped Kevin as he thought. Back at home, things were much calmer and actually made a certain amount of sense. Of course, at least the weather in this city was slightly less oppressive at this time of year…

Lost in thought, Kevin walked on through the sea of bobbing heads, not even really taking notice of things until he bumped roughly into someone.

"いたっ！"

Kevin halted at the outburst. Shee _yoot_ , that really had been a strong hit, he outta apologize-

"おい、てめえ！何を…" When Kevin turned, an apology already on his lips, he found himself looking down into the face of a young teenager. The person stared back at him, mouth still hanging open from what Kevin could only assume was cursing him out. They were a young man—more of a boy really—who stood at least half a foot shorter than Kevin. A dark blue NY baseball cap rested on their head. After one moment the boy scowled, shook his head as if to dismiss Kevin, and then turned away to frown down over his phone screen.

But Kevin didn't leave. He definitely hadn't understood this guy. But he did understand what language that was. He recognized it from the trip he took a few months ago: Japanese.

For a second or two Kevin just stood there. His gaze fixed on the person's hat. Those familiar letters struck some sort of a chord with him, making Kevin feel like he had a reason to stay. He shouldn't assume… Maybe this was a local? After all, just because someone spoke a language other than English didn't mean that they were necessarily foreign. Why, this guy could be Asian-American or something.

But still.

The boy glared down at his phone. Some sort of map app was open on-screen, but didn't appear to be working. The guy was even starting to shake the phone around in frustration, as if that would help.

"Um," Kevin spoke up. He tried to think of a neutral-sounding phrase. "Excuse me…"

When his words received no reaction, having been swept away by the crowd, Kevin thought again. He racked his brain for any of the Japanese phrases he had learned from Gakushuu. "Uhh…" He cleared his throat. " _Su-mi-ma-sen?"_

Upon hearing this, the young man jumped a foot in the air. Slowly the boy turned around, expression incredulous. Still, written somewhere in his face seemed to be the slightest bit of relief at hearing something that he knew.

"Hey," said Kevin, flashing what he hoped would be interpreted as a friendly smile. "You lost, pardner?"

The boy only stared back, but judging by the confusion on his face, Kevin was willing to bet that he had been right.

Kevin peered closer at the kid. Boy, was he ugly. The boy had black hair that hung down over his forehead, ears that stuck out slightly, and a nose that hooked into a squished J at the end. And hoo-wee, those eyes. They were conspicuously narrow, all the more so with him squinting at Kevin suspiciously. Kevin tried very hard not to stereotype, but it was difficult not to think of them as 'slanted eyes'. At least it did make this kid a bit easier to find in a crowd. The boy was dressed for tourism, wearing a comfy shirt and pants, but his shoes were much nicer than the standard walking fare, as if he hadn't been anticipating spending a lot of time outdoors.

"Where are your parents?" Kevin said, speaking slowly.

The stranger blinked. "No," he replied after a second.

"No?" Kevin's head tilted in confusion.

The boy looked around them for a moment. "Not here. I…wait for…" He struggled, hands waving helplessly before eventually settling on just sounding out the word. "- _bodiigaardo_. But bodyguard also…no." The boy finished, shoulders sagging with exhaustion. That seemed to be the limit of his explanatory capability.

Kevin's blood ran suddenly cold. What the hell? Did he say bodyguard? Somehow Kevin could tell that that hadn't been a linguistic mixup. This kid was in the care of pro guards?

Kevin stared over at the boy in fascination. And they hadn't shown up or something? Wait, in the first place, what kind of parents would just leave their kid on the streets of New York like that?

"Well, where were you going?" Kevin asked next. "Where are you supposed to be?"

The boy didn't answer. He stared down at his phone for a long moment, the brim of his hat tilted enough to hide his eyes. His opened his mouth and then shut it, appearing to argue with himself. Then he nodded.

The boy looked up. "Excuse me, can you help me?" he said, the rhythm of his phrases tilting like a see-saw and obviously pre-rehearsed. "Where is Boston Tower?"

Then the boy frowned to himself for a moment. "'The' Boston Tower? 'A' Boston Tower…" He broke off, shrugging away his speech with a scowl. The exact grammar didn't matter.

Fortunately, although the kid spoke through a super-thick accent, Kevin could still understand him. "Boston Tower?" Kevin repeated. "Yeah, I've heard of that place. It's…" Kevin stepped closer in order to reach the boy's phone. He pointed down at one place on the map screen. "Ah, there you go. It's right here."

Kevin shot a glance up at the boy. The kid frowned, squinting again as he looked at the point beneath Kevin's sausage-like finger, reading over the street names as if they were terms for exotic animals.

Yeah, no, a part of Kevin decided. This kid was never gonna get it.

"I'll bring you there," Kevin announced, stepping away and motioning to the boy with one hand. "C'mon, it'll be quick."

The boy stared back at him with wide eyes. He did not move.

Kevin grimaced. Great. How could he get this guy to trust him? Hopefully he wouldn't think that he was being kidnapped, or anything.

Kevin pointed over at the map. He pointed at himself. He pointed down the street. Then he made a "come hither" motion with his hands. If anything else, approximate sign language was always a universal thing.

And at last, it seemed to have a bit of an effect. A light of comprehension finally dawned in the boy's eyes. He nodded and took one step forward.

With a sigh of relief, Kevin turned to head down the street. He wasn't experienced with this locale in any sense, but he could at least follow the signs…

A sharp tug at his sleeve made Kevin stop in his tracks. He stumbled, turning around to find the boy standing there. With his other hand, the boy pointed off to the side, into the busy street.

"We…use this," the boy said, struggling over each word.

"Huh?" Kevin looked over. Parked on the curb next to them was a taxi cab. "That's a cab."

The boy didn't appear to have processed Kevin's words at all, giving another small but insistent tug.

"Nah dude, it'd be easier to walk."

Without a word, the boy pulled out a wallet and opened it up, giving Kevin a clear look inside.

Kevin's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "Woah, woah!" He gestured for the kid to put that away. The boy gave him a quizzical glance as Kevin hurriedly placed his hands over the wallet's leather sides, sealing what seemed like endless stacks of paper and plastic between them. Kevin rushed to explain with hand gestures. "You can't do stuff like that here! There could be thieves, you got me? Thieves? What do you call them in Japanese, uh…"

Kevin struggled for an answer, eventually just settling on the word for 'quiet'. " _Shizuka, shizuka_ …" Kevin muttered to the boy. Really, he knew that wasn't the most accurate translation, but it was the best he could do at this point.

Thankfully the boy didn't seem to question him any further. Kevin's shoulders sagged as he recovered from the shock. "It's two blocks away, let's just walk," he said before starting off again.

This time the boy followed.

A small grin snuck onto Kevin's face. Well, that was progress. At least the kid was trusting Kevin enough to let Kevin take him somewhere.

 _Tap, tap, tap_ went their feet against the dirty sidewalk. They walked, the boy lingering not too far behind, Kevin always trying to keep some part of the kid in view so as not to lose him. The boy was so much smaller than Kevin that it was easy to lose sight of him beyond Kevin's giant shoulders. And whenever Kevin looked over, he noticed that the boy looked rather uncomfortable, his face drawn taut and gaze angled downward.

A spark of sympathy ran through Kevin. Poor kid. Kevin got the sense that he was used to being much louder and more open than this. It sure was tough, being trapped in a linguistic box and unable to express yourself. Kevin knew the feeling from his own language classes. Meeting Gakushuu had taught him a lot, but of course, he hadn't learned everything.

"So, you're visiting from Japan?" Kevin asked, to make their walk easier.

The boy gave him a clueless look.

Ah. Maybe he had said that a bit too fast.

"Are you visiting from Japan?" Kevin repeated, trying to speak at the pace he wished his Japanese study CDs would go by. Super slow and clear.

The boy still paused a second. "Yes," he settled upon.

"Where?"

Another confused look.

"Where in Japan?" Kevin said. "I mean, in Japan, which city or-"

"Tokyo," the other boy replied without hesitation.

Ah. That made things a bit easier.

Kevin smiled in recognition. "Ah, Tokyo eh? Near Asakusa? Shinjuku? Kunugigaoka?"

The boy's eyes flew wide in recognition at that last name.

Kevin laughed. "Hah! Small world. I actually took a trip there myself a few months ago. Uhh…student exchange." He moved his hands in a criss-cross motion. "You understand? Student. Exchange." Inwardly, Kevin winced. He tried not to talk down to the boy, but it was kinda difficult with the language barrier.

The boy nodded back at him. "Student… Yes. Okay, okay. Cool."

Kevin grinned. That was the longest response he had gotten out of the kid yet. Buoyed by the victory, he spoke again. "Say, what's your name?"

Then Kevin frowned to himself. Wait a minute. He knew what those words were in Japanese, actually... "Uhh, I mean-"

"My name is Yuuji," the boy replied in full.

Kevin blinked. Huh. Well he'd be damned, some parts of that sentence must have gotten through. "Oh. Gotcha. Well, nice to meet you Yu-jee."

The boy stopped for half-a-second on the sidewalk. He emphatically shook his head as they continued on. "No. _Yuuji_."

"You-ji," Kevin repeated, stretching out the first syllable. The boy didn't seem to like it when he cut that first sound short. He practiced a few more times until his tongue got used to the feel. "Okay. Nice to meet you, Yuuji. And how old are you?"

For a moment, the boy—Yuuji—brought up both hands and counted off on his fingers, muttering what must have been numbers under his breath.

Kevin hid a grin. Heh. That was actually kinda cute of him.

"Sixteen," Yuuji concluded at last.

"No way!" Kevin replied. "That's the same age as me. Awesome!"

A small smile escaped Yuuji at Kevin's exuberant response. He nodded back.

For a while, Yuuji was silent. Then, suddenly, he opened his mouth. " _Anooo…_ "

Kevin looked over at the weird little interjection. It kinda sounded like something people would say when they wanted to speak.

But Yuuji looked flustered, his lips moving silently as if he were thinking over words inside his head. He looked away and blushed before taking a breath. "What is your name?"

That sounded like another repeated line stolen from a language class. But Kevin decided to humor the boy's effort. "I'm Kevin," he said. "Kevin Smith. I'm from Austin, Texas."

"I'm here on vacation," he continued. "My mother has family up North, so uh…I'm coming to visit. It's a family visit. I'm in high school, just like you probably, and play on my school's football team. Oh, and I'm learning Japanese. Uh…"

Kevin struggled. " _Watashi…wa…_ football _…ga…dai-su-ki-desu_ ," he said, working with all his might to recall the syllables. He gestured with the football in his right hand in order to make his meaning clear. Yes, that was it, he thought he had it-

Yuuji stared at him for just a moment before bursting into a short, barking laugh. " _Watashi,"_ he repeated, stifling a giggle.

"What?" Kevin asked, annoyed. "What is it?"

Yuuji smirked. The smug expression looked very natural on his face. He pointed over at Kevin. "Are you a girl?"

Kevin blinked. Well. Of all the complete sentences to fall out of the boy's mouth, he hadn't expected that one.

"No sir," he replied honestly. "100% American man, here." He straightened his back and squared his shoulders.

Yuuji still seemed unsure, and gave Kevin a peering look as they walked. He stared closer at Kevin's face, then his chest, before moving somewhere lower down, and- Wow, this kid really was forward, wasn't he?

It seemed like the guy wasn't willing to take any chances. Kevin didn't know how Yuuji could imagine that a person like himself might be a girl, but who knew? Maybe he had been mistaken before.

"So…is this your first time in New York?" Kevin asked, desperate to change topics.

It took a little while for the words to soak in and Yuuji to understand. Kevin stayed patient. The kid was trying, he could tell.

"Yes," responded Yuuji slowly. "I have come to New York…" He trailed off, waving hands as if to outline the insufficiency he felt. "Much times," he managed. "Much much times."

"Much times, got it."

"Much plus much!"

Kevin had to laugh at the funny phrasing. "Hah! Much plus much. I love it."

"You know something, kid?" Kevin leaned in close, swinging his arm around Yuuji's shoulders for a moment. "I like this place too. Don't ever tell my family that, though. They'd force me to declare an early independence from them, hahhah!"

Beneath Kevin's arm, Yuuji blushed and fidgeted a little as if flustered. He seemed to shrink away from the physical contact.

Hm? Oh right, Japanese culture didn't like physically-affectionate stuff as much. Whoops, Kevin thought. He pulled away immediately.

Yuuji returned to his place hovering behind Kevin's elbow. He readjusted his shirt collar and fiddled with the brim of his hat. Kevin kept an eye on the boy out of concern. The kid was blushing pretty hard, maybe? He seemed to do that a lot. Huh. Well, everyone was different.

Before long, the two of them turned a corner. Kevin nodded at the sight of the main street. He knew where they were from here. All they had to do was go down this way…

But something must have shaken loose in Yuuji's mind, because he suddenly became comfortable enough to ask a question.

Another tug on Kevin's sleeve prompted Kevin to look behind himself. When he did, he saw Yuuji looking up towards the sky. "What are those?"

Kevin looked up, following the question poised. "What?" Kevin asked.

"That. The…" Again Yuuji waved his hands. Apparently he didn't know the word for what he was wondering. " _bata-bata_ thing. Many."

He pointed all around them and down the street. Decked out across the buildings and lampposts were dozens of rainbow flags.

Oh. Kevin wasn't sure how to answer. This was New York—gay flags were just part of the usual street decorations here. Did they not have those in Tokyo?

"Oh…do you like those?" Kevin said, trying to be diplomatic.

Yuuji shrugged. Apparently he didn't like nor dislike them. "Very rainbow," he said simply.

"Those are Pride flags," Kevin explained. "For like…gay rights and stuff."

Yuuji returned his remark with a blank stare, and for a moment Kevin worried that Yuuji hadn't understood what he meant.

" _Gei_ …" Yuuji repeated, with a slightly different pronunciation.

"Yeah, like…" Kevin thought about how to explain. "When guys like guys and stuff. You understand? Man and man…in love? What's love called in Japanese, _Ai?_ "

Yuuji nodded. It looked like he understood at least that much. He made another one of his long, drawn-out thinking sounds, then looked up at the flags around them with renewed interest.

"Today…" said Yuuji, summoning up the courage to keep speaking. "Is a event today? _Bata-bata_ - _mono_ are everyday-いいえ, 違う," he corrected himself, "…everywhere."

"Hahhah," Kevin chuckled. "Nah, this is just a regular day."

"R-regular?" Yuuji said, struggling around the R's.

"Yeah, it's like this normally."

That got his attention. A flash shone deep in Yuuji's eyes. "Normal?"

"Well, yeah." Try as he might, Kevin couldn't help but get a bit defensive. His country had been through a lot in the past years, and darn if he wasn't part of the generation that was gonna keep it on the right track. "I dunno what it's like in Japan, but here it's considered fine. Look bud, it may be different from what you're used to, but that doesn't mean it's wrong. Just…try to keep an open mind, is all."

Kevin turned to face front, tossing his football up in the air a little to work off the energy. "It doesn't matter who you love. People are people."

Yuuji went quiet. He angled his gaze down at the ground, and seemed to be thinking about something. "People are people…" he repeated softly.

That phrase, repeated in Yuuji's breathy accent, made Kevin feel somehow bad for the dude. He brought up his arm to hit against Yuuji lightly and pointed up ahead. "Look, we're almost there."

The Tower appeared in the distance, and within a few minutes more they had arrived.

Kevin looked around once they reached the bottom of the staircase leading up to the door. Where were those bodyguards? At the very least, Kevin hoped that Yuuji would be okay and had somebody waiting who cared about him. The boy himself seemed relieved to have arrived, but not necessarily excited to go on inside.

Yuuji drifted closer for a moment. Nonchalantly, he brought out his wallet and pressed a folded-up bill into Kevin's hand.

A dash of amusement ran through Kevin. Man, this guy really was a rich kid, wasn't he? It felt like Kevin was a bellhop getting tipped or something.

Then Kevin looked down at the bill. His eyes flew wide. He had seen $100 bills before, but never held one!

He glanced around the street again out of habit, as if watching for prying eyes.

"Uhh…" Kevin cleared his throat. The bill felt smooth on his skin, and creased where his fingers clutched at the material. But although it did pain him slightly, something had to be said. "Hey dude, I can't take this."

Yuuji stared back at him blankly.

Kevin held the green piece of paper out to him. "Naw, it's not right. Take it back."

Yuuji's gaze looked bored, now. His eyes spoke of only one message: what Kevin did with that money was Not His Concern. He pushed the bill back over to Kevin like it was no skin off his back, which honestly just kinda pissed Kevin off more.

Then, in the middle of his desperation and frustration, Kevin suddenly had an idea.

"Welp, okay!" he spoke up, using his more-booming American voice to get the boy's attention. "Enjoy your time here in the Big Apple."

As Yuuji looked around, probably searching for the large apple mentioned, Kevin reached up and took off his own hat.

He held the cap in his hand, turning it around and pointing at the label so Yuuji could see. "But just so you know, personally I'd recommend Texas."

Kevin handed the hat over to Yuuji. The boy received it with a stunned noise. "Here. Consider it a trade. Now we're even."

Kevin waved as he turned to go, banishing any protest with a bright smile. "Next time, come and visit Austin! You and I could hang out sometime. _Mata kiteh neh_!"

The surprised light in Yuuji's eyes never left, but still the boy held the cap. He turned it over and over within his fingers.

After Kevin had walked a few steps down the street, a voice shouted over from the Tower entryway: "Hey!"

It was Yuuji, stretching his arms out over his head as he waved. The kid had already replaced the hat on his head with Kevin's own, and was waving while holding the original one in his hand. Huh. The sight almost made Kevin want to laugh.

Yuuji took a deep breath and appeared to be concentrating on his next words. "Kevin, you are a good person! Thank you for helping me!"

Kevin nodded, returning the gesture with a good ol' American fistpump.

" _Sankyuuuu_ - _!"_ Yuuji called out again before disappearing inside the building.

Kevin grinned. On second (third, fourth…) thought, he could listen to that voice all day.

He turned once more and left. Honestly, Kevin felt kinda inspired now. When he got home, he was definitely digging out his old language-learning CDs. Maybe he should look into other exchange programs, or take some more classes. Who knew when you might need to help an unsuspecting tourist…

And so away Kevin walked through the throng of people, in the city where sleep never really came, the crowds formed human seas, food was as plentiful as both enemies and friends, and the most inexplicable things could happen—the most extraordinary city on earth.

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 **Afterword: And Yuuji's list of many mancrushes continues.**

 **Also, since I'm studying Japanese myself, I can assure you that the "Engrish" here was written as informed to the best of my ability, not simply thrown in to make fun of anyone;; This is actually very close to how I translate stuff in my head.**

 **Yeah I headcanon that Yuuji doesn't have very good English skills, since he doesn't really need it in Japan despite English language classes being mandatory. He's a rich kid, he can get around just fine in his home country. But now, well well well, how the turntables…**

 **Also idk I just really liked the idea of Yuuji being mystified by New York/other cities's gay pride flags. Plus, it fits the 'shipping' theme between them for the prompt!**

 **(im liking this American boy, American boy. *Yuuji voice* TAKE ME TO NEW YORK I'D LOVE TO SEE L.A. )**


End file.
